Electronic summons for military medical commission, possible arrest warrant for Netanyahu, death of Iranian president: May 20 highlights

Rammstein-22" took place

The 22nd meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, better known as the Ramstein format, took place. The heads of defense departments from almost 50 countries discussed the situation in Kharkiv Oblast and Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

Spain announced a new military aid package. Among other things, it will contain the second batch of Leopard tanks, as well as missiles for the Patriot systems.

The Netherlands announced that it will deliver a new batch of YPR-765 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once requested.

The death of the president of Iran

The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, and all other passengers who were on board the helicopter that crashed in Azerbaijan the day before, died.

Iran's state television says the helicopter likely crashed into a mountain peak due to poor visibility during the fog.

According to analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Raisi's death will have long-term consequences for the regime, but will not destabilize the country in the way that the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could.

A warrant for Netanyahu's arrest is possible

On May 20, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, filed a petition for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and three Hamas officials. He considers all five responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized this request and called it a "shame" to equate Israel with Hamas.

Military medical commissions summonses may appear in "Reserve+" app

The Ministry of Defense plans to add a new function to the "Reserve+" application, which will make it possible to receive an electronic summons to undergo a military medical commission.

As of the morning of May 20, 260,000 men of draft age updated their military registration data in the "Reserve+" application. And in general, about 460,000 users have already logged into the application.

NSDC: The war will end with negotiations

Oleksandr Lytvynenko, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that Ukraine is clearly aware that the war with Russia will end with negotiations. However, it should not be a truce for a few years, but a stable peace for decades.

He also added that the situation at the front "is extremely difficult, but far from catastrophic."

The Arch of Friendship of Peoples may be turned into an LGBT symbol

The head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Anton Drobovych believes that the former Arch of Friendship of Peoples in Kyiv may not have to be dismantled if it is no longer read as a Soviet symbol.

For example, according to Drobovych, you can make a "rainbow as a symbol of LGBT or simply a symbol of a rainbow over water" from the Arch. According to him, the rainbow will truly redefine this object, creating a new context and discussion around it.

A Ukrainian teenager was stabbed in Germany

In the city of Dortmund, in the west of Germany, a 15-year-old boy from Ukraine was stabbed.

The incident happened on the evening of May 19, when Catholics and Protestants were celebrating the Holy Trinity Day. It all started with a verbal altercation between two groups of teenagers, which escalated into a fight. During the conflict, a 15-year-old boy from Ukraine was beaten and wounded with a knife. There was a risk that he would die.

The premiere of the hromadske documentary

In partnership with the Center for Combating Disinformation, hromadske created a film about how Ukrainians lost and revived information space from the ‘90s to the present day.

Journalists Yuriy Makarov, Andriy Kulikov, Myroslava Gongadze, Kostyantyn Hrubych; artists MamaRika, El Kravchuk, Rimma Zyubina, and Irma Vitovska feature in the film.

Other news

• Ukrenergo announced when and for whom electricity will be turned off on May 21.
• The petition with a request not to ban the booking of medicines through online aggregators has drawn enough votes.
• The government explained who and how can now serve draft summonses.
• In Izyum, a Russian strike destroyed a community center, which is more than 100 years old.
• Poland received a €300 million loan for the construction of the "Iron Dome"
• The number of people killed in an attack on a recreation center in Kharkiv Oblast has increased after divers found fragments of another body.